Alabama: priest involved with woman is badly beaten

Father Emmanuel Isi, a Nigerian priest who ministers at the cathedral in Birmingham, Alamaba, has been brutally beaten. The husband of a woman with whom the priest was involved is suspected in the attack.

Bishop Robert Baker told theBirmingham News that Father Isi “was in some relationship that was overstepping boundaries.” The bishop said that the priest had been "interfering" with the marriage.

“We let it be known that it needed to stop,” he said. “Our directive to him was cease and desist. We thought he did.”

The beating “was an overreaction,” Bishop Baker added. “Certainly, no person deserves that kind of hostility.”

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“We let it be known that it needed to stop,” “Our directive to him was cease and desist. We thought he did.” I thought Bishop Baker was smarter than this. This is what other bishops said about the child abusers! If he knew about the situation, good management required diciplinary action, direction and then follow-up. This is like catching a 5 yr old in the cookie jar, telling him to stop, and then leaving the room with both the child and the cookies still there. What did he think would happen?

Posted by: Cornelius -
Aug. 24, 2011 1:17 PM ET USA

I'm not sure I would react much differently from the husband, if he did indeed beat the priest.